Kate Gallego says Gov. Ducey has not met with Arizona mayors in months
Nov 17, 2020, 4:04 PM
Left: Gov. Doug Ducey (AP Photo/Matt York). Right: Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego (Facebook Photo/ Kate Gallego)
(Facebook Photo/ Kate Gallego)
PHOENIX – Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said on Tuesday that she and other Arizona mayors have not directly spoken with Gov. Doug Ducey in months as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the state.
Gallego told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Gaydos & Chad the last time she talked with Ducey was in June when he called to say he would allow cities to enact their own mask mandates.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Ducey regularly met with mayors in the state weekly to coordinate efforts, but Gallego noted those meetings fell off after a few months.
Gallego said that she and other mayors would love to work more closely with the governor and his office.
“We are ready and willing when he is,” Gallego said.
The Phoenix mayor also noted that when Ducey is ready to implement a statewide mask mandate, he has more than enough support behind him to put that policy in place, both at the state and federal level.
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“It feels like maybe now we finally have the right allies that will reach the governor,” Gallego said.
Arizona is currently one of 14 states without a mask mandate, but the governor’s office has said that the local mandates are sufficient. The city of Phoenix and Maricopa County have mask mandates in place.
In her state of the city address on Tuesday, Gallego called on the governor again to institute a statewide mask mandate until there is a wide distribution of a vaccine, more effective treatments or both.
“I believe that Doug Ducey cares about this community,” Gallego said. “I hope he will now see that scientists, hospitals administrators, business leaders, local election officials and the White House COVID-19 task force are all saying the same thing. He has the support to do a statewide mask requirement.”
